Destination: Scotland
by John Hawks

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Which market segments within your customer database will make the best prospects for a trip to Scotland? Start with your repeat visitors to Britain who’ve already explored London and other parts of England, as well as Ireland, and who are now ready to check another region within the United Kingdom off their wish lists. Of course, Scotland will appeal tremendously to golfers (with proper planning, it’s easy to secure tee times for your clients on many world-famous courses there such as St. Andrews).

Tourism marketers within Scotland recommend planning ahead for trips in 2009 -- the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns (Scotland’s national poet) and the year set aside for the “Homecoming Scotland” celebration for the nation’s descendants who have spread far and wide around the world. You can encourage your clients to begin tracing their Scottish roots through an official site such as www.ancestralscotland.com, and then visit their ancestral lands in person!

Start your exploration of Scotland with a visit to www.visitscotland.com, the country’s official tourism Web site.

You’ll find the best airfare options connecting through London into Scotland. Major carriers you should check include American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, and United. Also, don’t forget British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.

Once they’ve arrived, your clients can get around via rental car or their trusty BritRail passes. (Another luxurious option is the four-night “Royal Scotsman” upscale train trip limited to 36 passengers at a time.)

If you’d prefer to book through reputable tour operators, check the packages offered by these USTOA tour companies that also belong to OSSN: Brendan Vacations, Celtic Tours, Collette Vacations, GOGO Worldwide Vacations, Happy Vacations, Insight Vacations, Trafalgar, and Travel Bound. Other OSSN supplier members offering Scotland packages include Destination Europe and Sceptre Tours.

When should your clients schedule their Scottish getaways? You’ll find the most discounts during the off-season travel periods -- early November to mid-December and late December through mid-March. By booking your clients into Scotland during the winter, in fact, they’ll avoid the tourist crowds. The summer months (June through September) and the Christmas season will be your most expensive (and crowded) options.

What cities and attractions should you recommend to your clients in Scotland? In Edinburgh, they can divide a day between Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse, with another day shifting among the new Scottish Parliament building, the Royal Botanic Garden, the National Gallery of Scotland, and the National Museum of Scotland. Forty miles west of Edinburgh sits Scotland’s other major city (and its largest), Glasgow, where they will find major cultural stops such as The Burrell Collection, the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, and the Hunterian Art Gallery (along with other historic sites such as the Cathedral of St. Kentigern). Of course, they can’t forget Loch Ness, with a visit to Inverness (along the loch’s western shores) and Drumnadrochit (with its Loch Ness Monster Exhibition).

If you’re serious about developing a specialty in Scotland, you should register for the SCOTSagent program administered by VisitScotland. Once you’ve signed up, you’ll receive immediate benefits such as commissionable deals via www.bookingscotland.com, a dedicated email address and toll-free fax number for answers to your questions about Scotland (with a 48-hour guaranteed response time), and a SCOTS logo you can use in your promotions. After you’ve completed the five seminars in the SCOTS program, you’ll earn a certificate and 3 Travel Institute CEU credits. For $99, you can subscribe to the SCOTS Business Benefits plan, which includes bonus commission opportunities with Scottish suppliers and your own listing on the www.toscotland.com consumer Web site (with consumer referrals within 100 miles of your home agency location). You’ll also be invited to special fam trips and receive marketing materials such as posters, CD-ROMs, tour shells, and other aids.

(Photo credits: VisitScotland)